


In Which Lewis and Clark Get Lost and Sacagawea Didn't Want to Go Look For Them

by Noah_Northstar



Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: Gen, because I felt like it :P, civil war mannequins, ever-suffering Larry, magnetic columbus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:48:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27678308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noah_Northstar/pseuds/Noah_Northstar
Summary: Lewis and Clark have left the museum...
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Kudos: 8





	In Which Lewis and Clark Get Lost and Sacagawea Didn't Want to Go Look For Them

**Author's Note:**

> Based off this post on @headcanons-at-the-museum: https://headcanons-at-the-museum.tumblr.com/post/632267074418442240/lewis-and-clark-went-out-to-explore-nyc-but-have
> 
> also a little of this one: https://headcanons-at-the-museum.tumblr.com/post/632269226902683648/on-the-topic-of-that-anons-hc-about-lewis-and
> 
> and this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULAdMx4jeUE&feature=youtu.be
> 
> I don't own NatM or its characters. You know the drill.

The night had started out well. Larry should have known; things never went _this_ well.

As usual, the tablet had brought the exhibits to life as the sun set.

Larry had left Nicky with Teddy (Nicky had been asking to learn how to ride a horse, and this was not only a safe compromise, but Larry didn’t have to worry.)

A new RC car had been set up for the miniatures, and Larry was just finishing his first round of the evening. Making his way back to the atrium to check in on Nicky (not that he was worried, he trusted Teddy, but it couldn’t hurt to check anyway), Larry heard a commotion.

Turning back to see what was making the racket, Larry followed the sounds of tiny combat back to the Hall of Miniatures. Hadn’t those guys come to an understanding?

As Larry got closer, he groaned. Nicky had mentioned bringing in a bucket of plastic army men for a history class project about American artifacts and now, here they were, and of course, they were taller than the museum’s miniatures by a head and shoulders.

The little green men had the cowboys and the Romans surrounded and held at gunpoint. When they noticed Larry standing over them with his hands on his hips, they pointed their tiny guns (those that had them, anyway) up at him instead.

“Hold on, guys. Violence is not the answer!” Larry held out his hands, giving Jed and Octavius a ‘don’t make this worse’ look. _Nicky is SO grounded_ , he thought.

_______________

Once Larry was sure things were under control with the miniatures, he tried to make his way back to Nick and Teddy, hoping there wouldn’t be any other trouble.

But that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?

Larry was almost there when he saw Sacagawea quickly approaching him with a worried look on her face. Taking a deep breath, Larry steeled himself. If Sacagawea was worried, there was likely a bigger problem going on. She had been instrumental in helping him in the past, though, so he would do what he could if she needed help.

“Hey, Sac! What’s up?” Larry tried to put on an ‘I’m not worried’ face.

“Have you seen Jean Baptiste?” Sacagawea’s son had been added to her exhibit several months before, at her request and after some convincing of the museum’s board by Larry and a lot of help from Rebecca. “I left him with Lewis and Clark for a little while, but I’ve been looking for them for half an hour and can’t seem to find them, and I’m worried something may have happened.”

Larry frowned. The Lewis and Clark expedition exhibit had been empty when he’d checked that room, but he’d assumed that its inhabitants had left for other parts of the museum for the evening.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t.” Larry said. “Come on, I’m already on my way to the atrium, let’s get a search party going.”

Ignoring what appeared to be a tug-of war between a magnetized Columbus and a suit of armor trying to pull its arm from the explorer’s head, Larry and Sacagawea made their way back to the atrium.

Amelia Earhart and General Custer, who were retelling the events of what had been dubbed the Battle of the Smithsonian (albeit somewhat exaggerated) to a captivated audience of Ahkmenrah and a number of the Civil War mannequins (well, as captivated as faceless mannequins could be). The group was seated in a cluster around the Amelia and Custer, with the pharaoh holding Jean Baptiste in his arms, also captivated, but likely more so by the excited hand gesturing than the story.

Noticing Sacagawea and Larry, Ahkmenrah carefully handed the baby back to his relieved mother. The pharaoh tapped one of the soldiers on the shoulder, prompting him to pull out a folded piece of paper from a uniform pocket with ‘Mr. Daley’ written on the outside.

Before Larry could open his mouth to ask what it was, the paper was being held out to him.

“Ahk, what is this? Where are Lewis and Clark?” Larry said as he took and slowly unfolded the paper.

Ahkmenrah shook his head. “I’m not sure. The soldier that had it wouldn’t let me open it because it was for you. I’m glad they let me hold Jean B., though. He is such a sweet child!”

Larry started to read, Ahk looking over his shoulder.

_Mr. Daley-_

_Capt. Lewis and I have left the museum to complete our map. Didn’t want to worry S. so we have left J.B. here in good hands._

_-W. Clark_

Noting the concern on the night guard’s face, the pharaoh matched Larry’s brisk pace over to Sacagawea, who was playing peekaboo with Jean Baptiste. Seeing Larry coming back, she carefully set Jean Baptiste on her hip and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Larry read her the note, and looked at her. “Where do you think they went?”

“To map the central part of this continent, most likely,” she deadpanned. “Where else?”

“But they can’t do that before sunrise! We’re on the East Coast!” Tonight was _not_ Larry’s night. “We have to track them down and bring them back!”

“Why? They’ll find their way back. _They’re_ the famous explorers, after all.” Larry’s jaw dropped at her lack of concern. He looked at Sacagawea, who had turned her attention to Jean Baptiste.

“Sac! If they disappear, what happens to you?” Larry pleaded. _Or me?_

Larry could practically hear an angry McPhee already. _“How did you manage to lose two LIFE-SIZED statues?!? That live, might I remind you, BEHIND PLEXIGLASS? Let me guess: they just walked away? Decided, ‘oh, I’m going to take a nice stroll right out of the museum!’ Well it’s not funny! I know you fancy yourself a comedian, Mr. Daley, but this is too far!”_

“-and anyway, do we _really_ need to go looking for them? Larry?” Sacagawea’s voice interrupted Larry’s imagination. Both she and Ahkmenrah were looking at him, a little worried.

“Uh. Yeah. We _do_ have to find Lewis and Clark. Ahk, could you get Teddy over here? Tell him to bring Texas.” Larry turned back pleadingly at Sacagawea. “Please, Sac. If Lewis and Clark are gone, they may take down your exhibit altogether.”

That got her attention. She sighed. “Alright. I will help you.”

_____________________

Despite how early in the night it was, the atrium had cleared out except for Larry, Nicky, Sacagawea, Ahkmenrah, and Teddy. Nicky was spinning himself around in the chair at the desk.

Larry looked around at the group. “Okay, do I need to go over the plan again?”

“Why do you need my phone, anyway?” Nicky had stopped spinning the chair and looked at his dad in annoyance.

“So we can divide into teams and Sac can call me if she and Teddy find Lewis and Clark.”

“But can’t I just go with them?” Nicky pointed out.

“No, you are _not_ going out into the city at night basically on your own.” Larry looked to the wax figures. “No offense.”

“None taken, Lawrence! We don’t want to put Nicholas in danger.” Nicky frowned as Teddy clapped him on the back.

“But-!”

“No ‘buts’ about it. Besides, you can man the desk here and call me if they come back on their own.” Larry ruffled Nicky’s hair.

“Okay, everyone. Ready to- ow!” The RC car had crashed sharply into Larry’s shin. “What now?” Larry crouched down to talk to the miniatures.

“We wanted to see what was goin’ on! You wouldn’t organize somethin’ important without us, Gigantor?”

Larry helped Jedediah and Octavius onto the desk. “We don’t have time for this. You guys stay here with Nicky. Nicky, you fill them in.” Larry ushered the rest of the group outside.

Outside on the steps, Larry looked up at Sacagawea and Teddy, both seated on Little Texas. “Okay. My number is on Nicky’s phone, and I opened a map for you. If you can’t find them and it’s getting close to sunrise, just come back. Okay?”

Sacagawea nodded and Teddy gave him a salute before they rode off.

Larry turned to Ahkmenrah, bundled in a borrowed coat from the Lost and Found. “Ready?”

The pharaoh nodded, holding his tablet close to his chest. “I believe if we get close enough, I can make the summoning spell call them back without affecting Sacagawea and the president.”

“Good.” Larry hoped the explorers hadn’t gotten too far.

“Ahk?” Larry asked as they started in the opposite direction from the receding hoof-prints left by Little Texas.

“Yes?”

“Does Sac have beef with those guys?” The pharaoh shrugged, and the two continued into the night.

_________________________

Meanwhile…

“Didn’t you get stuck babysitting?”

“Yes, but I left J.B. with one of the American soldiers. Capable fellows. And a note.” The other man nodded approvingly. No need to worry anyone.

A bus pulls up in front of the American Museum of Natural History. It stops and the door opens with a squeak and a puff.

“We _do_ beg your pardon, sir, but we are looking for the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean.”

“I can take you as far as 125th Street. Got a Metro card?”

The bus driver watched as the two oddly dressed men (well, it _was_ New York. There were plenty of oddly dressed people around. Besides, maybe they were doing that costume role-playing thing his brother’s kids were so into these days.) looked at each other, then back to him.

“We have two rabbit pelts and a stick of dried venison.” They were certainly playing up their characters. What the heck, it was getting close to Christmas anyway, and this might be a fun gag gift. Plus it would be a silly story to tell the kids.

“Fine.” The bus driver nodded at the two and hoped there wasn’t anybody else trying to barter frontier goods.

The two men got into the bus, and, seeing no one else waiting to get on the bus, the bus driver closed the door and continued on his way.

Weirdos.

__

Getting off the bus, Lewis and Clark set out to finish their map. However, as the bus was pulling away, it dawned on the explorers that they could not see any landmarks from their map that they could continue mapping from. The landscape had changed.

They looked at each other. “Perhaps we should have asked her to come with us.”

______________________________

After about 3 hours, Larry was starting to think the search for Lewis and Clark would be fruitless. It was snowing, and Larry was looking forward to going back to the museum.

When he and Ahkmenrah reached the end of the block, the pharaoh was about to recite the incantation again when his phone rang. It was coming from Nick’s phone.

“Hello?”

“Lawrence! We have located the lost explorers!” The relief must have been obvious on Larry’s face.

“Where are they?” The pharaoh asked.

“Teddy, where are you? Do you need me to send instructions to get back?” Larry hoped they hadn’t gotten too far.

There was a pause as Larry heard Teddy pass the phone. “Larry, we will have them follow us back to the museum. I remember the way. We will meet you back there.” Sacagawea ended the call before Larry could reply.

“Okay, then.” Larry put his phone back in his pocket and motioned for Ahkmenrah to follow him. “Sounds like we’re gonna meet them back at the museum.”

________________________

When the night guard and the pharaoh made it back to the museum, four (five if you counted Little Texas) figures waited for them. A smug Sacagawea and a stoic Teddy still on the horse, and a tired and embarrassed looking Lewis and Clark sitting on the steps.

Larry looked at the tired explorers and then at Sacagawea. “Did you make them walk all the way back here?”

Behind him, the pharaoh was failing to hide a laugh.

“It will help them to better remember the way should they be foolish enough to try this again.” Sacagawea carefully dismounted and gave the explorers a stern look before she walked back inside.

No one looked at each other for a moment before Larry checked the time on his phone and gave an awkward cough. “You guys should get back inside. You’ve got less than an hour before sunrise.”

_______________________________

Thankfully for Larry, Lewis and Clark seemed to be happy to stay indoors following their adventure outside.

Especially considering that Sacagawea never let them forget about it.

The End.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully that was entertaining. I could really use some feedback.


End file.
